Breathe first, plan later: A Teacher’s summer reset guide

Summertime for teachers is a paradoxical season. Outsiders might imagine two or three carefree months of vacation, but educators know the reality: summer often marks the end of one form of work and the start of another. Between mandatory professional development days, setting up next year’s classroom, and even second jobs (nearly 49% of U.S. teachers take on summer work), a teacher’s “time off” can feel anything but. Yet amidst all this, summer remains a crucial opportunity to unwind and recharge. How can you balance the need for rest with the urge (or requirement) to prepare for the next school year? This guide will walk you through a balanced approach: breathe first, plan later. We’ll explore strategies for emotional well-being, gentle reflection on the past year, light planning for the future, and even a bit of low-pressure tech exploration – all with a respectful nod to your autonomy as a professional. The goal is to help you genuinely reset this summer, so you can return in the fall feeling refreshed and ready, without having sacrificed your well-being in the process.

Prioritize rest and recovery (breathe first)

Rest and relaxation are not indulgences for teachers on summer break – they are necessities for restoring energy and preventing burnout.

After a marathon school year, the first order of business is to give yourself permission to truly rest. As one veteran educator analogized, teaching is like performing on stage every day without a break – and even the best actors need a hiatus to recharge their creativity. Recharging is essential for balance and wellness, not a frivolous luxury. In fact, if you push yourself straight into summer projects without pause, you risk carrying exhaustion into the next year. “If you’re moving too fast and your circuits are overloaded, you won’t be able to create. You need to stop, dream, be renewed,” wrote one former teacher urging colleagues to keep summer break sacrosanct.

What does real rest look like? It will differ for everyone, and that’s okay. It might mean sleeping in and finally binge-watching that show you missed during the school year. It could be a long-postponed spa day, daily afternoon naps, or lazy family picnics in the park. It might involve engaging in non-teaching hobbies – gardening, painting, cooking, reading purely for pleasure – without guilt. “Embrace and prioritize rest and relaxation after a long school year. Whatever that looks like for you, do it,” advises one guide for educators. The key is to disconnect from the pressures of the classroom and allow your mind and body to recover. Research shows that true downtime isn’t about doing nothing to “numb” your brain – it actively helps restore your mental energy after ten months of intense work.

It’s also important to release any guilt about taking it easy. Many teachers struggle with the feeling that they “should” be productive every moment of summer, especially knowing other professionals work year-round. But remember, teaching is a uniquely demanding job, and you have earned this break. One teacher reflected, “I really need the summer to recuperate from teaching — and I don’t want to feel guilty about it.”. Giving yourself grace to relax is not an act of laziness; it’s an investment in your effectiveness as an educator. We often remind each other that you can’t pour from an empty cup – if you run yourself ragged, you’ll have less to give your students. Consider this summer your time to fill your cup so full that it will overflow for your students come fall. By taking care of your own physical and mental well-being now – through adequate sleep, exercise, meditation, or simply quiet “do-nothing” moments – you are ensuring you can show up as your best self later.

Tip: If you find it hard to switch off “work mode,” start with small, intentional acts of self-care. For example, begin the first week of break by not setting an alarm or by enjoying coffee on the patio with no agenda. Schedule a fun outing that has nothing to do with school. Treat this relaxation as you would an appointment on your calendar – because it is just as important. Giving yourself explicit permission to relax is sometimes necessary to break the cycle of constant productivity. Remember, rest is not a reward you must earn by burning out – it’s a basic need and a right after the demands you’ve met all year.

Reflect on the past year – gently and constructively

Once you’ve caught your breath, consider engaging in some gentle reflection on the school year that just ended. Reflection is a powerful tool for professional growth, but it doesn’t have to be an arduous post-mortem of every mistake. Think of it as mining the year for gold nuggets of insight – celebrating successes, acknowledging challenges, and learning about yourself as an educator. As one education coach notes, “Reflecting on your experiences over the past year is a crucial step toward professional growth. It allows you to identify what worked, what didn’t, and what can be improved.” By pausing to think about the year’s ups and downs, you “make visible” all that happened – a necessary step before you can move forward.

Start small. When you feel ready – perhaps a few weeks into break, after you’ve distanced yourself from the end-of-year chaos – set aside a quiet hour or two for reflection. Grab a journal or open a blank document and write down some notes about the year. (There’s research-backed value in writing things down by hand for better memory and processing.) You might prompt yourself with a few questions: What was one goal I had at the start of the year, and how did it turn out? What was a high point of the year, and what made it successful? What was my biggest challenge, and what did it teach me?. It’s important to frame even the failures as lessons – in the words of writer adrienne maree brown, “never a failure, always a lesson.”. This mindset keeps the reflection constructive rather than self-critical.

If journaling solo isn’t appealing, try a reflective chat with a colleague or friend from work. Sometimes a casual summer coffee with a fellow teacher to swap stories can be both cathartic and illuminating. You’ll likely find that your struggles were not yours alone. “Share your reflections with your colleagues – you build solidarity and affirm that you are not alone in your struggles,” says instructional coach Nina Portugal, who emphasizes the power of collective teacher efficacy in reflection. A shared reflection session – whether in person or even in a group text thread – can validate your experiences and generate new ideas for addressing common challenges together.

As you reflect, don’t forget to celebrate yourself. Too often, teachers finish the year exhausted and immediately focus on “what’s next” without acknowledging how much they achieved. You made it through the year – that alone is cause for applause. Think about the growth you facilitated in your students, the relationships you built, and the obstacles you overcame. Give yourself that metaphorical high-five or pat on the back. One reflective exercise is to choose one word to describe your school year – an activity Nina Portugal did with a group of educators. They offered words like “tumultuous,” “exhausting,” “resilient,” even “bananas” to sum up the year. Whether your word is challenging or transformative, honor it and then give yourself permission to rest and recharge before the next journey. Ending your reflection on a positive, self-compassionate note will set the stage for moving forward with confidence.

Light planning for the year ahead (plan later, and lightly)

After you’ve given yourself ample time to decompress and reflect, you may (gradually) feel the itch to get organized for next year. Planning is important – but the key is to approach it in a light, low-pressure way. Remember, the mantra is plan later for a reason: there’s no need to dive into heavy planning during the first half of summer. When you’re ready, start with small, manageable planning tasks that will help you feel prepared without overwhelming your break. The goal is to do just enough now to make the fall easier on yourself, while preserving your summer sanity.

Prioritize what truly matters. It’s tempting to write a mile-long summer to-do list (the infamous “I’ll get to that in summer” list every teacher has) and then panic when you realize there aren’t enough weeks to finish it. To avoid this trap, decide what is a priority and what can be let go. For example, updating or mapping out your curriculum might be high-impact for next year, whereas completely redecorating your classroom theme might not be worth the time crunch. As teacher-blogger Shannon Kiebler notes, “Is it a priority to re-do your entire classroom decor? Maybe not… especially if you’re committed to also taking care of yourself with some downtime and relaxation during the summer.” Focus on one or two high-priority items for your situation, and give yourself permission to put the rest on the back burner (or even the trash bin!). This way, you ensure the most important prep work gets done, and you still get to enjoy your break.

Many teachers find it helpful to sketch out a “Year at a Glance” – a big-picture outline of the coming year’s curriculum – as a summer planning task that pays dividends later. Creating a year-at-a-glance plan in summer can prevent the mid-year scramble and panic about finishing the curriculum on time. If this appeals to you, grab a blank calendar and map out the units or major topics week by week, factoring in school holidays, testing dates, and other known interruptions. This doesn’t need to be perfect or extremely detailed; think of it as a rough guide. Even a skeletal outline can serve as a compass during the school year, keeping you on track while allowing flexibility. And if your district provides a pacing guide, you can use it as a reference rather than a strict script – “you can use the district’s plan as a guide without having to follow it exactly,” Kiebler advises. The act of creating your own overview helps you internalize the flow of the year and adjust it to your teaching style.

Beyond the big-picture curriculum, consider spending a little time on lesson planning and resource organization, especially if you’ll be teaching the same grade or subjects. While the past year is still relatively fresh in your mind, note down which lessons or units really soared and which fell flat. Are there topics you wished you had taught earlier, or projects that needed more time? Maybe your class never got to that cool activity you planned – could it be front-loaded next year? Updating some lesson plans now, while you remember the nuances, can make August and September much smoother. For example, you might tweak a unit that wasn’t as engaging as you hoped, or add a new strategy to your classroom management plan if last year’s routines didn’t quite work. Even organizing your teaching materials (physical or digital) over the summer can save precious time later. One practical suggestion is to set up simple systems or binders for the new year: perhaps a teacher binder with sections for curriculum maps, lesson plans, and calendars, and a student data binder for tracking assessments or IEP information. Investing a bit of time in such organizational prep can pay off when the school year chaos hits.

Crucially, set boundaries on planning time so it doesn’t balloon and consume your break. You might allocate, say, one morning a week for school-related work and keep the rest of your week free. Or follow the advice of one seasoned teacher who advocates establishing a structured routine after your initial rest period. For instance, after a couple of weeks of pure relaxation, you might choose to spend two hours every Tuesday on lesson planning or classroom prep. Having a loose routine or a limited time block ensures you make progress on your priorities without letting planning take over. And if you find yourself slipping into overdrive (e.g., spending an entire day revamping slides or scrolling Teachers Pay Teachers for hours), gently remind yourself that “good enough” is good enough. You don’t have to do it all – in fact, trying to will only erode the rest you desperately need. As one educator wisely put it, “the worst thing we can do is overwhelm ourselves by trying to do everything. Simply choose one thing… per day that will be good for your well-being and learning.” In sum: plan a little, then go play!

Explore classroom technology – playfully and without pressure

Summer can be a great time to dabble in educational technology, on your terms. During the school year, you might have heard about various apps or digital tools but never had a spare moment to try them out. Now, with a more flexible schedule, you can explore a new tech tool or two in a low-stakes way, just out of curiosity. The key here is playfulness: treat it like tinkering, not training. If it’s not fun or useful, you can drop it – no harm done.

One inspiring example comes from a school that ran a “Technology Summer Camp” for its teachers, turning summer PD into a camp-like game. The idea was to get teachers playing with digital tools as campers, taking on creative challenges as their students might. Teachers could choose from challenges (e.g., “Try using an annotation app to mark up a photo”) and share their creations on a private blog, commenting on each other’s experiments. The emphasis was on exploration, collaboration, and fun – with no grades or evaluations attached. Participants loved that they could work at their own pace (some saved all the challenges for the last two days of summer – and that was fine!) and that the whole experience felt like play, not work. The result? They expanded their digital toolkit and returned to school with fresh ideas, but without the stress usually associated with “learning new tech”. You don’t need an official program to do something similar. Why not create your own mini “tech challenge”? For instance, if you’ve been curious about Google Forms or Kahoot or ClassMap’s latest features, spend an afternoon messing around with it. Make a sample quiz or seating chart just for fun. See how the interface works, maybe watch a quick YouTube tutorial, and think about how (or if) it might fit your style. By approaching tech in a spirit of play, you remove the pressure – it becomes about discovery, not yet another task.

If you prefer a more structured approach to tech learning, you can take advantage of the many free online workshops and courses available in the summer. The beauty is you can do these on your own schedule, from the comfort of your couch (or a poolside lounge chair). For example, consider enrolling in an online conference or webinar that piques your interest – perhaps something on blended learning, creative classroom apps, or even a new topic like AI in education. There are often free virtual conferences for teachers during the summer months. Edutopia’s Rachelle Poth points out that with so many virtual PD options now, teachers can learn “from anywhere” at their own pace, balancing learning with relaxation. The idea isn’t to overload yourself with hours of screen time, but to pick one or two learning opportunities that truly excite you. Maybe it’s a one-hour webinar that gives you a couple of new tech integration ideas, or a self-paced course that you can dip in and out of over several weeks. Keep it light and aligned with what you want to learn, not what you feel you “should” learn.

Another low-pressure way to keep your tech muscles warm is through education podcasts or blogs. These can be wonderfully flexible: you might listen to an edtech podcast while on a morning walk, or read a teacher’s blog about innovative tech projects while lounging in the backyard. Podcasts in particular let you absorb new ideas without any active effort – just hit play during a road trip or while doing chores. You’ll find podcasts on every niche, from general teaching inspiration to very tech-specific ones (for instance, the Easy EdTech Podcast is one that focuses on classroom technology tips). Similarly, following teacher communities on social media (Twitter, Facebook groups, etc.) can yield a steady trickle of ideas and resources, if you enjoy that sort of networking. The important caveat: do this only if it energizes you. The moment it starts feeling like an obligation or you catch yourself doom-scrolling, give yourself permission to log off and return to your regularly scheduled summer relaxation. Remember, exploring tech or engaging in PD is optional and supplementary during a summer reset, not mandatory. The goal is simply to have a bit of fun with new tools and perhaps pick up one idea you’re excited to try with students – and if even that doesn’t happen, that’s perfectly fine.

Finding balance and embracing teacher autonomy

Throughout all these suggestions, one principle stands out: teacher autonomy. This is your summer, and you know best what you need from it. Every teacher’s ideal “reset” will look different. Some might find deep fulfillment in writing a detailed year plan in July; others might not think about school at all until early August – and both approaches are valid. The tips above are not meant to prescribe a one-size-fits-all summer routine, but to offer ideas that you can take or leave according to what makes you feel recharged and prepared.

Balance is the magic word. We’ve discussed the importance of rest, and indeed many teachers are actively trying to strike a healthier work-life balance. For example, the teacher who wrote about ditching summer guilt realized she needed to start setting boundaries during the school year – like not saving all personal errands for summer and not feeling bad about using an occasional PTO day – so that each summer isn’t about recovering from burnout. Likewise, you might consider establishing small habits now that carry into the school year: maybe a daily walk or hobby you vow to keep doing even when school starts, or a rule that you won’t check work email after dinner. Summer is an ideal time to pilot these boundaries. As Education World advises, try silencing your work email notifications for chunks of time or setting a specific “office hour” for yourself even during summer – and then continue that practice into the school year. Creating a stable, healthy work-life rhythm now can help you maintain it when things get busy again.

One strategy for balance is to combine structure with flexibility. It sounds contradictory, but it’s all about gentle scheduling. You might keep a light routine (to ensure those important tasks and self-care activities actually happen) while embracing the freedom to deviate when you want. For instance, you could plan that Mondays are “me days” (no school work, maybe a fun outing or pure relaxation), Tuesdays and Wednesdays you do a bit of planning or PD in the morning, Thursdays for family or friends, and Fridays wide open for anything. A balanced schedule ensures you touch on different needs – personal, professional, social – without any one aspect dominating. Of course, remain flexible: if a spontaneous opportunity comes up (a last-minute getaway, or you just feel like doing nothing on a day you’d slotted for planning), give yourself permission to be in the moment. The routine is there to serve you, not shackle you.

Finally, as you navigate your summer reset, constantly remind yourself of this truth: “You’ve earned this break, and you deserve to use it in whatever way rejuvenates you.” The culture of overwork in education is real, and it can make teachers feel like they’re never doing enough. But consider the flip side: taking time to care for yourself is actually part of your job’s long-term success. When you return to school with your mind clear, stress levels down, and maybe a couple of fresh ideas you’re excited about, you’ll likely be a more patient, energetic, and creative teacher. That benefits not just you, but your students. So if anyone questions why you’re not spending every waking minute prepping in the summer, you can confidently echo what many of us know: rested teachers make better teachers. Or as one survey respondent quipped when asked about summer, “We don’t have summers ‘off.’ We’re never really ‘off.’” – which is all the more reason that we must consciously step off the treadmill for a while【29†】.

Conclusion: A renewed you for a new school year

In the ebb and flow of an educator’s calendar, summer is a precious, hard-won gift. It’s a time to pause, breathe, and remember that you are more than your lesson plans. By prioritizing your well-being first and foremost, reflecting on your journey, and then doing a bit of strategic, low-pressure planning, you can enjoy the best of both worlds: true rejuvenation and quiet preparation. When August (or September) rolls around, you’ll thank yourself for the rested body, the clear mind, and the handful of ready ideas in your back pocket.

Approach the new school year as a new adventure, one you’ve had time to imagine and gear up for at a sane pace. You might find that after a balanced summer, you’re actually excited to return – not because you didn’t enjoy your break, but because you did. As one former teacher eloquently noted, stepping away for a while lets you see the upcoming year with fresh eyes and find the energy to “bring something new to September’s classroom.” So breathe deeply and savor this reset. You’ve earned it. By caring for yourself and planning on your own terms, you’re not only breaking the burnout cycle – you’re also quietly stoking your passion for teaching. Come fall, that renewed spark will shine through in your classroom, to the benefit of you and your students alike. Here’s to a summer of restful breaths now, and confident strides into a fantastic new school year later!

Sources:

• K. Bell, “The Teacher’s Guide for a Balanced Summer Break,” Shake Up Learning (May 22, 2024).
• D. Andrus, “Balancing Work and Rest: Tips for Maximizing Summer Break as a Teacher,” Education World (2023).
• R. D. Poth, “How to Balance Resting, Reflecting, and Learning This Summer,” Edutopia (June 7, 2023).
• N. Portugal, “Taking Time for Reflection in the Summer,” Edutopia (June 15, 2022).
• C. Frommert, “4 Ways to Take a Real Break This Summer,” Edutopia (May 28, 2021).
• C. Skibba, “Technology Summer Camp,” Edutopia (May 5, 2015).
• “Planning for Back to School Over Summer Break,” Huntington Learning Center blog (June 9, 2024).
• “What Are Teachers Really Doing This Summer? (Survey),” We Are Teachers (May 29, 2024).
• A. Archambault, “As a teacher, I’m done feeling guilty for having summers off,” Business Insider (July 10, 2024).
• D. Ouellette, “Give Educators a (Summer) Break,” Edutopia (Oct 24, 2005).